This will be the final installment of the RX3 and RX4 comparisons. We’ve got one more coming up after this, and that’s the RX4-to-KLR 650 comparis0n. And then, another cool and quick review…the BMW GS 310. Yep, I rode one of those yesterday to get a feel for how it compares to the RX3. That will be in another review. For now, on to the RX3 and RX4 final comparison in this series…
Take a look at the swingarms on the RX3 and the RX4. The RX4 has a much beefier unit, as you can see below.
Overall, the RX4 swingarm appears to be much better design than that on the RX3. The only aspect of the RX3’s swingarm that I think I like better is the axle adjustment design. On the RX3, the threaded adjusters can be used to move the rear wheel forward or backward. On the RX4, it looks like Zongshen took a more conventional approach, where the adjusters can be used to move the wheel rearward, but you have to manually push the wheel forward.
I may have already mentioned this next point in an earlier blog, but I’ll mention it again. On the RX4, the exhaust pipe sweeps down and under the engine, and then it sweeps up again to the muffler behind the engine. The RX3 has an upswept pipe.
The purist will undoubtedly flood the forums with comments about the RX4’s downswept pipe. My reaction is: Meh. It’s the same approach as used on my Triumph Tiger. Upswept, downswept, six to one, half a dozen to the other. As the Germans say, machst nicht. That is, unless you’re changing the oil or adding oil. Then the RX4’s downswept pipe (and the improved access it offers to the oil fill ports) starts looking pretty good.
Here’s another significant difference: The radiator. The RX4 uses a single large radiator, compared to the RX3’s two smaller radiators.
I like the RX4 radiator approach better. Simple is better in the engineering world, and a single radiator makes a lot more sense to me.
Moving on, we’ll next take a look at the grips and controls on the RX3 and the RX4. The RX3 photos you see here are my RX3, which is a 2015 model. In 2015, the RX3 did not have bar end balancers, but Zongshen added these in 2016 and beyond. Also, the 2015 RX3 had chromed bars, all subsequent years had subdued silver paint on the bars.
When Zongshen made the RX3 handlebar change, I wondered why they messed with something that worked so well. There was more to the story than I knew at the time. It basically went like this: The Chinese motorcycle industry took a major hit and underwent a significant shakeout in recent years. The US motorcycle market did, too. Here at home, the market dropped to 50% of its former levels with the Great Recession of 2008, and it has never moved much beyond that point since. We had a double whammy here: Banks and lending companies stopped giving 4th, 5th, and 6th mortgages to folks wanting to buy motorcycles (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly), and our demographics changed. Older guys aren’t buying bikes like they used to (they’re aging out), and Millenials are more interested in cell phones and self-driving cars than they are in motorcycles. And while all of this was going on, the industry here in the US continued (and continues) to offer outsized and overpriced choices. In China, there has similarly been a double whammy, but the two strikes are of a different nature. China is concentrating its population in the cities, and (incredibly) China is outlawing motorcycles in its cities. I know, it’s nuts, but it is what it is.
Anyway, all of this caught up with the Chinese motorcycle industry, and a lot of lower level motorcycle component suppliers in China finally called it a day in 2015-2016. That’s what resulted in the need for a new RX3 handlebar supplier going into the 2016 model year. With that change, Zongshen included bar end weights, which I think were unnecessary. Nah, change that: I know they were unnecessary, because I have a 2015 RX3 with no bar end weights and a zillion miles on the clock, and I’ve never had an issue with vibration.
All righty then…to dial this back to today, the bottom line is that both the RX3 and the RX4 have bar end weights. But not mine, because it’s a 2015 RX3. With that in mind, here we go…
So, about that sloppy bar-end fit on the left side of the RX4 preproduction prototype: While I was disappointed in this minor detail, I have to point out that it was the only area on the motorcycle that was poorly fit. Every other aspect of the RX4 (and I mean literally every other bit related to fit and finish) was absolutely world class. The bike just screams quality. The paint, the fit, the finish, everything. Except that sloppy left side bar-end weight.
Moving on to the right side of the bike, here’s the right side grip and control area on my RX3. Note the A2, A1, and O switch; it controls the RX3’s underseat accessory plugs.
Here’s the same view of the RX4’s right side grip.
The photo above shows the RX4 preproduction bike, which has the headlight switch for on, auto, and off. I’m told the US configuration bikes will only have the on and auto positions. The on position turns on the headlight; the auto position leaves the LED headlight outline on all the time but only turns the headlight on when it senses it is dark. The A1 and A2 switch for the underseat accessory plugs will be controlled by an optional CSC-unique handlebar-mounted switch. At least that’s the plan as of this writing.
On this issue of bar-end weights: Like I said above, vibration is a non-issue on both bikes. If I concentrate on trying to feel it, I guess I would say the RX4 has a barely-detectable higher vibration level than the RX3, but you have to really focus on trying to tell the difference. I’d drop the bar-end weights on both bikes. But then, I don’t make a million motorcycles a year. Zongshen does.
The big difference in the wheels between the RX4 and the RX3 is that the RX3 has spoked steel rims and cast wheels are not an option. On the RX4, the wheels are spoked aluminum rims, and cast aluminum wheels are an option.
For comparison, here’s the wheel and tire on the front of my RX3.
The last area I’ll describe is the dash and instrumentation, and that part is easy: They are identical. Well, almost. The instrumentation is the same. The dash is a little different in that on the RX3, the USB and 12V chargers are optional accessories; on the RX4, they are standard equipment.
The RX4 instruments, which are identical to the RX3’s (including the 10-12% optimistic speedometers). Note the standard-equipment USB and 12V accessory outlets to the left and right of the speedometer. And folks, that wraps it up on the RX3-versus-RX4 comparisons. It was fun, and it was really fun to be the first to evaluate the RX4 and publish these findings on it here on the ExhaustNotes blog. My overall take is that the RX4 is a quality machine. It’s a little heavier than the RX3, but I suppose that’s to be expected on a motorcycle with nearly twice the displacement of the RX3. The handling and freeway performance is a substantial notch above the RX3. I don’t believe anyone is offering a comparable, fully-equipped adventure touring package at any price in the 450cc class, and that makes this motorcycle noteworthy (especially in view of the fact that this displacement is so obviously perfect for a serious roadburner). CSC asked me to mention that they are taking deposits now, and here’s the page where you can do that.
If you’d like to read all of the RX3-to-RX4 comparisons, here’s the page to do that. Stay tuned, because we have an RX4-to-KLR comparison coming up soon, and (as mentioned above), we’ll also be publishing a quick ride review of the BMW GS 310. BMW has a significantly different path to market than does CSC, and that difference (to me) is even more interesting than is a comparison between the two motorcycles. We’ll talk about that, too.
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Yesterday was a fun day. I was at Brown BMW in the morning for my GS 310 ride, and I got to chat with Bob Brown a bit while I was there. Then it was over to CSC to visit with the guys there. I’m happy to report that both places were hopping. This morning, I’m off to the rifle range to evaluate a few new loads, and tomorrow, it’s the International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach (watch for the photos here on the ExhaustNotes blog). Good times, folks.